Processes for the preparation of such a catalyst component—as described, for instance, in WO 00/08073 and 00/08074—usually include a step in which a magnesium-Gp 4 metal-electron donor component is recovered by precipitation from solution, typically by contacting the solution with a large amount of an aliphatic hydrocarbon. However, such precipitation leads to a tar-like reaction product of low catalytic activity, that needs to be washed several times in order to decrease the amount of inactive Gp 4 metal complex. Aromatic hydrocarbons have also been used for the precipitation, but they lead to a very finely divided precipitate which is difficult to deposit. Worse still, it is difficult to carry out such precipitation in a controlled and reproducible manner, leading to unsatisfactory product morphology. Moreover variable and low concentrations of catalyst constituents such as butyl chloride may result, as a consequence of pre-precipitation evaporative removal of aliphatic solvent.